A Typical Afternoon

Just a quick video that highlights a typical afternoon with the boys:Will demolishing a book with his huge quantities of drool, Griffin chewing on whatever he can get in his mouth, and Cooper rolling around trying to get anywhere at all.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

3 years ago today we were busy doing this:

Never in a million years would I have guessed that 3 years later we would be busy every day as the parents of triplets!

We spent the weekend in Atlanta to celebrate our third anniversary. Will's sisters Sue and Cari took care of the boys so we could have a couple nights to celebrate with just the two of us. It was my first time leaving my babies overnight and our first time getting away together since they've been born. I knew they were in good hands and I was absolutely looking forward to some rest and relaxation, but it was still pretty hard to leave them! 

What a nice weekend we had, though. You almost forget how much free time you have when life doesn't revolve around a baby schedule! I still had to pump every few hours, but we had lots of down time which felt heavenly. We took a tour of the CNN headquarters, went to World of Coke, ate well with a couple leisurely anniversary meals at Kevin Rathbun steak and South City Kitchen, and spent some time relaxing in the hot tub at the hotel. And we slept. A whole lot. It was a perfect weekend away, and great to spend time together and reminisce and marvel at how our lives have changed so much in the past 3 years. We were both eager to get back to our boys on Sunday though- we were home by noon! 

Anniversary goodies

CNN Tour

I drank more in 3 days than I have in the past 18 months. This dirty martini tasted like a little piece of heaven!

Our romantic dinner at Kevin Rathbun got even more romantic when the restaurant lost power

Dining in the dark

Ready for some 4D Coca Cola action

My favorite part of the tour- sampling Coca Cola products from around the world

But you can't beat the original

I don't brag about Will on here as often as I should, so I'll take time on our anniversary to do so. What an incredible guy my husband is. The best. He's handsome, adventurous, funny, loving, generous, loyal, driven, surprising, and kind. That's a good husband in my book. We've been together for almost a decade, and I still genuinely enjoy his company. He has worked hard to give us a great life, and our kids will have an amazing upbringing thanks to their dad. He wants them to have the best life possible and I have no doubts he'll do whatever he needs to do to make that happen.

It's been such a joy for me to see him in the roll of "daddy". 7 months ago he literally jumped into parenting with two feet and hasn't looked back. I mean, he went from never changing a diaper to changing 15+ every day! As hard as it is (for both of us at times) to not be in the more traditional role of me staying home with the kids, I think it's also a blessing. Will gets to spend all kinds of time with his kids. Not many dads have that luxury, and I don't think Will takes that for granted. He is a part of so many of their milestone moments and "firsts"- I think that's really special. Not many men could handle the monotony of being a stay-at-home dad to triplet babies, but Will is not only rocking at it, he's excelling! Our house runs like a well-oiled machine thanks to Will. Granted, it's a dirty machine that could use a thorough cleaning (as cleaning is never high enough on our to-do list to actually get to lately), but our bills get paid (Thanks Will!), dishes get done (Thanks Will!), laundry gets folded (Thanks Will!), and babies get loved (THANKS Will!) every day.

One thing that I particularly admire in Will is that despite becoming a dad he hasn't lost his sense of self. He has long said that he didn't want having kids to keep him from doing the things he enjoys or to stop doing things that WE enjoy as a couple. He's managed to get away for a couple overnight golf trips to help him recharge, and he was adamant that we still go somewhere together for our anniversary. (Because if we're being honest, I didn't want to leave the babies!) Being a parent requires lot of sacrifices, but Will insists that we take time to still be "us"- whether that's doing our own thing separately or dates together. And as hard as it is to leave our babies, it's the right thing to do. After all, the kids will grow up and leave us one day, but we'll be together forever. It's important that we still maintain a relationship outside of our children. 

So, a very happy anniversary to my favorite guy in the world- a man I truly love and respect. I'm amazed at how much our relationship has changed and grown, not only in the past 3 years of marriage, but in the nearly 10 years we've been together. I'll forever be grateful for 1038 W. Roscoe in Chicago. Thank goodness you moved in.

Cheers to us- looking forward to many more years of amazing views and celebrating life!

7 Months Old!!!

Our babies are 7 months old today! They're now closer to being 1 year olds than they are to newborns, which is hard for me to fathom. Time continues to move way too quickly for my liking. But I must admit, as much as I miss the tiny baby snuggles and cuddles of 3 newborns, we are having a blast with the boys at this age!

Will:

I am not sure it's possible for Will to be any sweeter. He is by far the most patient of the trio, especially when it comes to eating. He has his fussy moments, but for the most part he's our smiley, happy little guy. He was a little slower to get the hang of eating solids, but now is one of the better eaters of the group. Lately he loves to stick his fingers in any available mouth he can find- we often catch him trying to fish hook his brothers when they're playing on the floor. He has started to roll over in his sleep, too, so now all three boys are tummy sleepers at night. Will used to be our most mobile baby, but lately has seemed content to hang out in one spot on the floor. He's getting better every day at sitting up on his own, and is really sure-footed if you stand him upright and let him hold on to something for support. Will continues to be our cautious baby- he's a bit more hesitant when trying something new or being in a new environment. He's also super affectionate lately and will give you "kisses" on your cheeks.

He loves sweet potatoes!

With cousin Olivia

They all love books

His new favorite activity: fish hooking anyone in arm's reach

Go Broncos!

The sweetest face to greet in the morning!

Griffin:

Our laid back little man has developed a bit of a 'tude lately, particularly when it comes to his bottles. He gets SUPER fussy if we don't get him his bottle fast enough once he's settled into his rock-n-play or if we take it away mid-feed to burp. He enjoys eating solids, but not with the same gusto as his brothers. He quickly loses interest and definitely does not have a poker face- it's easy to tell which foods he enjoys and which he doesn't! Apples are probably his favorite so far while carrots are definitely at the bottom of the list. He is our best sitter and can sit upright on his own for a minute or two at a time, as long as he's placed just right on the floor. He gets better every day, though, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he can sit up for extended periods of time. Griffin is sleeping on his belly now almost 100% of the time. He's using his voice more now these days and loves loves loves to YELL!

Griffin loves the sweet potatoes, too.

Could that little face be any sweeter?

Take your baby to work day (self-proclaimed thanks to a doctor's appointment)

He's a good nap snuggler

Another precious boy to greet in the morning

Daddy loves this picture

A little grumpy bug in the mamaroo

Cooper:

Cooper is our little adventurer! He's definitely the most active of the trio and has discovered in the past weeks that he can get around pretty well if he rolls. He can cover a lot of surface area on the floor just by rolling from his stomach to his back over and over and over again. He's also gotten really good at turning himself toward whatever object has peaked his interest. You can almost see the wheels in his head turning as he figures this stuff out. It's so fun to watch! He is also our most enthusiastic (and cleanest) eater- he LOVES to eat and rarely makes big messes because he doesn't let any food go to waste. He's exclusively a stomach sleeper these days. He rolls over to his belly as soon as we lay him down in his crib. He's been experimenting with different sounds lately and has been very talkative. Like Will, he loves to give you big sloppy kisses! He's still happiest when he's close to Mom and Dad.

He loves sweet potatoes more than this picture suggests!

With cousin Avery

His 2nd favorite spot, behind being held by Mom or Dad

Texting Daddy some happy pictures

New talent: grabbing toes and drinking my bottle

These faces first thing in the morning slay me- they're so stinking cute!

Snow baby

At 7 months we are:

• Taking four 8 oz bottles/day
• Sleeping through the night (Cooper occasionally wakes up still for a nightcap)
• Eating solids once/day- so far we've had sweet potatoes, apples, cereal, and carrots
• Getting 2 solids naps in each day- morning and afternoon- with a catnap in the evening
• Practicing using sippy cups full of water. We haven't quite gotten the hang of how to drink from them yet, but we're getting there!
• Trying to put everything in our mouths. Everything.
• Being a lot more active during playtime
• Beginning to learn sign language by watching our baby signing time DVDs
• Grabbing our toes as much as we can. Cooper and Griffin are especially fond of the "hold your bottle with one hand and grab your toes with the other" move lately. 
• Going through about 12-15 diapers/day between the 3 of them. Cooper is still in size 2 while Griffin and Will are now in size 3
• Bathing twice/week, but will likely become more regular as they continue on solids and can sit up better in the tub
• Wearing 6 month clothes comfortably. Griffin and Will are likely to move up a size before Cooper does. Cooper can still fit in some 3 month clothes.